George Roop calls it like he sees it, and when people say he shouldn’t ever go to the judges, he disagrees.

“I don’t think that’s fair, man,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “That’s what judges are there for. Especially at this level in the UFC, it’s tough to finish guys.

“You’re fighting the most elite guys in the world, and I really feel that you should be able to leave it in the judges’ hands sometimes.”

Say that in an arena following a fight and you might get booed. But if you think about it, whom can we rely upon if not the officials who have been tasked with regulating our sport?

“If you get two guys that go out there and leave it all in the cage, I think you should be able to make the right calls,” Roop (12-8-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC), who faces Cub Swanson (15-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the preliminary card of UFC on FOX 2, said.

UFC on FOX 2 takes place Saturday at Chicago’s United Center. Main-card actions airs live on FOX while a six-bout preliminary card airs live on FUEL TV.

Of course, there is one rub: the right call. Even though there are fewer calls that are criticized – maybe two, maximum, per event – than go unnoticed, they are pored over and fumed about ad nauseum. So it’s become quite a dirty word to say decision, much less to look at it as a positive thing.

You may disagree with Roop, but consider that he’s been on the losing end of some iffy calls that have taken money out of his pocket and left blemishes on his resume. If there’s anyone who would want to finish a fight, it’s him.

But that’s not the way it works when two fighters are doing their best to stop one another.

“I’m not saying I don’t go out there looking to finish fights,” Roop said. “I go out there looking to finish the fight every time. But that’s not the way I train. I train for a three-round, grueling war.”

That’s a job necessity. It certainly was when Roop took on Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137. Despite chasing down the Japanese fighter on the feet, he spent a lot of time on his back, and when the final scorecards were tallied, his hand was not raised.

Roop was devastated, and even more when he went back home, watched the fight, and came to the conclusion that he needed to finish rounds more decisively.

One thing he didn’t do, though, was blame the officials, even though many others did.

“I’m a motivated person, man, so I’m still not over the loss,” Roop said. “I’m not saying that I want a rematch right away. I don’t like doing rematches right off the bat, but it’s definitely a fight I look forward to down the road. I haven’t gotten over it, and I never will get over it until I get that fight.”

One thing Roop did well in that fight, and most of his fights, is keep on the attack. When he meets Cub Swanson, that will come in handy, and because the two have talked trash, it should be a good fight.

But who knows what will happen. Scorecards could be involved. The important thing is that they’ll be all in on fighting, and not playing for points.

It’s the judges job to tally things at the end.

“One thing we both do, we both show up to the fight really well,” Roop said. “I will let it all out on Saturday night.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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